Means for adjusting hospital beds



Dex. -22, 1942. s. a. WOLLER MEANS FOR ADJUSTING HOSPITAL BEDS Filed Sept. 29.- 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 INVENTOR. ZZZWQ/dEZY/OZZ/* I Decr22, 1942. E. E. WOLLER MEANS FOR ADJUSTING HOSPITAL BEDS Filed Sept. 29,1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR EZZa/ MZ E Mower BY 4) [we-Mm Patented Dec. 22, 1942 MEANS FOR ADJUSTING HOSPITAL BEDS Edward E. Woiler, Kenosha, Wis., assignor to Simmons Company, a corporation of Delaware Application September 29, 1941, Serial No. 412,710

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to means for adjusting the tiltable sections of the bed springs of hospital beds, and it has particular relation to telescopically adjustable cranks which may be pulled outside of the bed frames for adjusting the tiltable sections and which may at other times be disposed within the bed frames and out of the way.

It is desirable that the bed springs of hospital beds be made in tiltable sections so that a patient may be adjusted to different positions. In the majority of constructions, adjustment of the different sections is made by turning a drive shaft in one direction or the other, depending upon the adjustment to be made. Ordinarily, some form of crank is provided for such shafts by which a nurse or other attendant may make the desired adjustments. It is very desirable that such cranks be normally disposed within the bed frames so as to be out of the way except when they are pulled out for making adjustment of the tiltable sections.

The object of this invention, generally stated, is the provision of an improved type of telescopically adjustable crank for operating the rotatable shaft of hospital beds which may be normally disposed within the bed frames and which may be conveniently pulled out of the bed frames for connection with the drive shafts when adjustment is to be made.

Certain other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of my invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a bed embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational View, partly in vertical section, showing the drive shaft of the bed of Fig. 1 and the manner in which the adjustable crank is mounted thereon according to this invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical sectional view showing in detail the manner in which the adjustable crank is connected in operative position to the drive shaft so as to rotate the same;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 65 of Fig. 3. V

Referring to the drawings, a hospital bed is indicated generally at It] in Fig. 1, the bed frame of which comprises a head end I l and a foot end l2 with side rails l3 extending therebetween. A bed Spring l4 rests upon the side rails l3 and has a tiltable head section I5 which is pivoted at l6.

Arrangement is made to elevate the section l5 from its flat position, indicated in broken line, to different heights depending upon the extent to which it is desired to raise the head and back of a patient. The means for raising the tiltable section I5 comprises a link one end of which is pivoted at 2i to the section I5 and the other end of which is pivoted at 22 to one end of the bell crank 23. The-bell crank is pivoted for rotation about the point 24 and comprises a relatively lon arm 25 and a shorter arm 26.

The bell crank 23 is supported for rotation about a pivot point 24 and is adapted to be operated by a rod 27 so as to tilt the section l5 to different positions. As will appear hereinafter in detail in connection with Fig. 2 of the drawings, the rod 21 is adapted to be shifted forwardly and backwardly by a nut which is threadedly engaged on a longitudinally fixed, rotatably mounted, screw shaft. The shaft is adapte to be rotated by a telescopically adjustable crank 38 which may be pulled outwardly beyond the foot end 12 of the bed ID for connection with the shaft, and which may be pushed inwardly to disconnected position within the bed frame, as indicated in broken line in Fig. 1. Th present invention concerns principally the construction of the crank 30 and the manner in which it is slidably connected with the rotatable shaft which operates the rod 21. Reference may now be had to Figs. 2 to 6 of the drawings for a detailed description of this mechanism. 1

As shown in Fig. 2, a supporting member 3| having a U-shaped cross section is supported at an inclined angle from one of the side rails l3. The member 3i is riveted at its upper right-hand end to the siderail l3 by a number of rivets 32,

and it is supported at its lower end by a bracket 33. A collar bearing 34 is pivotally supported by trunnions 35 between the sides of the member 3|, adjacent the lower end thereof. A shaft 3'5 having a threaded end 31 is rotatably journaled in the bearing 34. A grease cup 38 is provided for lubricating the rotation of the shaft 36 within the support bearing 34. The threaded end portion 31 of the shaft 36 is threadedly engaged by a nut 38 which is anchored in the rod 2'! (which is hollow as shown). A collar 46 may be provided in the right-hand end of the tubular rod 21 so as to guide it as it shifts longitudinally on the shaft 36 and thereby prevent binding therewith. The threaded end 31 of the shaft 36 and the tubular rod 21 may be enclosed in a tubular casing member 4| extending from the bearing 34, as shown.

The right-hand end of the shaft 36 on the right-hand side of the bearing 34 terminates a substantial distance within the bed frame. A sleeve member 45 is welded at 46 to the righthand end of the bearing 34 and fits around the shaft 36, the shaft 36 being rotatable within the sleeve member 45. The right-hand end of the shaft sleeve 45 does not extend all the way to the right-hand end of the shaft 35, and a spline 4! of rectangular cross section (Fig. 6) is welded to the under side thereof. It will be seen that the spline 4! does not extend the full length of the shaft sleeve 45.

Means are provided for preventing the longitudinal shifting of the shaft 36. Its movement to the right is prevented by a collar 56 which is secured to the shaft by a pin and which rotates against the left-hand face of the support bearing 34. The shifting of the shaft 36 to the left is prevented by a collar 52 (Figs. 2 and 3) which is secured thereto by a pin 53. lar 52 bears against the right-hand side of a thrust bearing 54 which is mounted between the collar 52 and a ring 55 disposed at the righthand end of the shaft sleeve 45. The thrust bearing 54 may be of the ball type having two halves 56 and 51 which are rotatable relative to each other.

The crank is longitudinally adjustable on the right-hand end of the shaft 33 and serves to provide for the manual rotation thereof. The crank 30 has a tubular sleeve 60 which has a collar member 6| secured in the left-hand end thereof by a pair of screws 62. The collar portion 6! fits the outside of the shaft sleeve 45 for rotation thereabout when the collar is at the right hand end of the shaft 36, and said collar has a key-way 63 (Fig. 5) formed therein for engaging the spline 41 when the crank 30 is adjusted inwardly within the bed frame. The right-hand end of the collar portion 5| is counterbored so as to accommodate the thrust bearing 54 and is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite, open-ended slots 64 (Figs. 3 and 4). When the crank is pulled outside of the bed frame to its outermost position, the slots 54 are adapted to engage the opposite ends of the pin 53 which, as mentioned, also secures the collar 52 to the end of the shaft 35. When the pin 53 is engaged in the open-ended slots 54 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the collar portion 6! and crank arm 60 are locked against rotation relative to the shaft 36. Accordingly, when the crank 35 is rotated by grasping a handle 65 which is rotatably secured to the end of a crank arm 56 which extends at an angle from the tubular sleeve 60, the shaft 36 will in turn be rotated.

For purposes to appear hereinafter, the distance 011 (Fig. 3) between the right-hand end of the spline 41 and the left-hand end of the crank sleeve 66, when in its outermost position, should be greater than the distance dz representing the depth of the slots 64, so as to thereby prevent the pin 53 from becoming engaged in the slots 54 until after the spline 41 has disengaged the keyway 63.

The col- 2 The crank 30 is adjusted to operate the mechanism serving to tilt the bed spring section l5 to different positions in the following manner: With the crank 30 in its outer connected position, as shown in full line in the drawings, it may be turned in either direction by the handle 65 so as to rotate the shaft 36 in the desired direction. As the shaft 35 rotates, the nut 38 is moved longitudinally therealong in opposite directions, depending upon the particular direction of rotation of the shaft, thereby carrying with it the rod 27. The rod 2'! acts on the lever 26 to adjust the tiltable bed spring section I5 to different positions through the connections described above. After the desired adjustment of the bed has been made, the crank 30 may be moved within the bed frame and out of the way. This is done by turning the crank 30 so that the handle 65 is in its lowermost position, and then pushing the crank inwardly. Asv the crank30 is pushed inwardly, the pin 53 disengages from the slots 64 and the spline 41 engages in the keyway 53 so as to guide the crank within the bed frame. It will be seen that the spline 41, by engaging the key-way 63, thereby prevents rotation of the crank 35. In its innermost position, the handle 55 will be in the position shown in broken lines in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. It will also be noted that When the crank 38 is in its innermost position, the shaft 36 is discngaged therefrom.

When it is desired to make an adjustment of the bed, the crank 30 being disposed within the bed frame, the operator reaches within the bed frame and grasps the handle 65, pulling the crank 39 outwardly. The spline 4! guides the crank in its outward movement until it disengages from the key-way 63. The crank 36 is continued to be moved outwardly until the slots 64 engage the pin 53 so as to connect the crank 39 with the shaft 36 for rotating the same.

It should be noted that the friction within the mechanism is sufficiently great so that the bed section l5 will not slip down from any adjusted position due to the weight of a patient applied thereto. Accordingly, it is not necessary to lock the shaft 36 against rotation after adjustment of the bed section I5 has been made. However, in case there is any slight amount of creepage of the mechanism with corresponding rotation of the shaft 36, it is always possible to engage the slots 64 with the ends of the pin 53 since the distance dz is less than the distance 011. That is, the keyway 63 is disengaged from the spline 47 before the slots 64 engage the pin 53. This permits the crank 36 to be rotated around until the slots 64 engage the pin 53 in case the shaft 36 has turned somewhat after the crank 30 has been pushed within the bed frame.

Since certain changes may be made in the foregoing construction and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter described hereinbefore or shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In the means for adjusting a tiltable section of the bed spring of a bed, a shaft connected in driving relationship to the tiltable section with the outer end of the shaft terminating within the bed frame adjacent to one end of the bed, bearing means spaced inwardly from said end of said shaft for rotatably supporting the shaft, a sleeve around said shaft outwardly of and secured in fixed relation to said bearing, said sleeve having its outer end disposed in inwardly spaced relation to said outer end of the shaft, a longitudinal key secured to and extending along the outside of said sleeve and terminating inwardly of the outer end thereof, a crank longitudinally slidably mounted on said sleeve and provided with a keyway for receiving said key to hold the crank against rotation about the key bearing portion of said sleeve, said crank being freely rotatable about the outer end portion of said sleeve beyond said key, and complementary means carried by the outer end portion of said shaft and said crank for interlocking said shaft and crank for unitary rotation, said interlocking means being engageable as an incident to movement of said crank to a position outwardly of its freely rotatable position on said sleeve.

2. In means for adjusting a tiltable section of a bed spring of a bed, a rotatable shaft, means operatively connecting said shaft with the tiltable section whereby rotary movement of said shaft is utilized for adjusting the tiltable section, the outer end of said shaft terminating within the bed frame adjacent to one end of the bed, a bearing spaced inwardly from said outer end of the shaft for rotatably supporting said shaft, a sleeve around said shaft outwardly of and secured in fixed relation to said bearing, said sleeve having its outer end disposed in inwardly spaced relation to the outer end of said shaft, aspline extending longitudinally along the outside of said sleeve and terminating inwardly of the outer end thereof, a thrust bearing disposed around said shaft adjacent the outer end of said sleeve, a collar secured to the outer end portion of the shaft adjacent said thrust bearing so as to prevent inward movement of said shaft, and a crank having an elongated tubular hub provided with an internal collar adjacent its inner end, said hub collar fitting said sleeve so as to freely rotatably support the crank on the end portion of said sleeve outwardly of said spline and being rovided with a way for receiving said spline to permit sliding movement of the crank inwardly over said sleeve to an inoperative position inwardly of said bed end, said spline serving to hold said crank against rotation during its inward movement and in its inoperative position, and interlocking means carried by said hub collar and the outer end of said shaft and engageable by movement of said crank outwardly along said sleeve beyond the freely rotatable position of the crank, whereby said crank is operative in its outermost position of adjustment to rotate said shaft.

EDWARD E. WOLLER.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,506,259. December 22, 19L 2.

EDWARD ,E. WOLLER.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 2, for "shown) read -shown) by pins 59."; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed end sealed "this 16th day of February, A. D. 191$.

Henry Van Arsdaie,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

